‘Head number 7, braiiins': Chilling PayPal memos of ex-Harvard worker, wife who sold human organs

Mint

25-05-2025

In a case as macabre as it is surreal, a former manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue has pleaded guilty to trafficking stolen human remains including dissected heads, brains, faces, and skin, and selling them on the black market.
Alongside the man, Cedric Lodge, his wife Denise Lodge, was also involved, who received $37,355.16 (nearly ₹ 32 lakh) over three years. Payments were made via PayPal and had memos such as "head number 7" and 'braiiiiiiins," as per the federal indictment obtained by People Magazine.
Cedric Lodge, 57, admitted on May 21 in a federal court in Pennsylvania to interstate transport of stolen human remains taken from cadavers donated to Harvard for medical research and education.
Between 2018 and March 2020, Lodge used his privileged access to the school's morgue to harvest body parts from corpses that had already been dissected, and used for academic purposes, but had yet to be disposed of.
The ex-Harvard worker took them to his home and, along with his wife, sold them to people in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, prosecutors said. The transactions totalled to tens of thousands of dollars, ABC News reported, citing the indictment.
Prosecutors say Cedric Lodge ferried the stolen remains from Harvard's morgue in Boston to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire. He and his wife, Denise Lodge, then sold the body parts to buyers across state lines, sometimes shipping them directly and at other times allowing the buyers to pick them up in person. Their network stretched across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.
On one occasion, Denise Lodge supplied a Massachusetts woman with human skin, knowing she intended to tan it. He even met her at the morgue to hand over 'two dissected faces,' revealed the indictment, state multiple reports.
Lodge now faces up to 10 years in federal prison, plus fines and a supervised release. His sentencing will be determined by Chief US District Judge Matthew W Brann.
Lodge's wife, Denise Lodge, pleaded guilty last year and is waiting for her sentence.
The story has horrified Harvard officials and the public alike. "We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus, a community dedicated to healing and serving others," Harvard Medical School deans George Daley and Edward Hundert said in a statement.